Is Sport a Religion? Praying for your Team to win the Cup

Nowadays, most people are sports-crazy, one way or another. Whether it is the Soccer World Cup, the Superbowl, or the Stanley Cup, sports-fans all over have their favorite teams to fret and craze over. They take their games quite seriously; in fact, sometimes even more so than the team members themselves.

You can see face paints, waving flags, jerseys and caps, and cheers and jeers everywhere. A win of your team can elevate your confidence, while others have entered a state of depression because their favorite team lost a significant match. The unfortunate side effect are also riots that can bring about in its extreme cases even death and destruction.

Can we claim that sport is a modern-day religion? When we look at martial arts, religion and sport, in fact, seem to make a perfect union. Martial arts is as much a philosophy as it is a contact sport. Yoga is meditation practice while exercising your body at the same time. Wrestling was seen by the ancient Greeks as a form of combining physical actions with spiritual discipline. But what about in the modern Western world? Is soccer, football, or hockey a religion?

The cult of the favorite team is rather a form of worship. People carry around symbols of their sports-team, whether it is the jersey or a flag. They also recognize each other as members of the same community or congregation. They construct a shared world of symbols while they all join for the same common cause, to see their time win.

During a live sports event (and in some cases even at home) the home team is cheered on through ritualistic behaviors. In fact, the national anthem often sets the mood and may even raise the stakes for the teams involved by infusing it with national pride regardless if the opponent is from a different country or not.

This ritualized and shared singing can be compared to the hymns of the church that foster and remind us of our own connection within the group. But the singing does not stop there. There are chants that are sung, screamed and shouted in unison. These rites are aimed at making one's team come out victorious. The constant chanting that seek to animate and egg on the home team can be seen as a rather bizarre mix of superstitious beliefs, wishful thinking and prayer.

It comes then as no real surprise that in a world of the void, sports should make that much of an impact on our modern-day psyche. Many have lost touch with themselves and their own identity within the community, and hence they are looking for means of overcoming their own brand of loneliness. Of course, religion is offering a substitute but it is not to everyone's needs and taste due to its dogmatic flavor. 

 

Religion, with a few possible exceptions, is often too structured and rigid for the expression of exuberance and of wild emotions. In other words, people want to go crazy; they want to shout and scream and even cry tears of happiness or bitterness without feeling ashamed of those emotions. And the sports arena can give them the outlet they are so desperately looking for.

So we can say yes, in our modern world, sports has gained the status of religion because it fulfills some of the profound needs of the individual. It serves also as an escape from reality, from a world of routine, stress and boredom. Whenever there is the next Stanley Cup at stake, people unite to show their passion for their favorite team that can fill them often with a sense of pride and direction in their lives. 

And yes, it may be true what some critics are saying that sports is a money-making scheme and worse, it is lulling our brains and diverting us from the real problems in the world. It may be considered mindless entertainment, but I would not want to miss out on the heart-pounding adrenaline rush of seeing my favorite team hoist the Cup followed by an unforgettable and historic celebration in my community. 

In the meantime, I am praying for their success and wish them well as every once in a blue moon these athletes manage to bring a little bit more excitement to our lives, while filling their own pockets.

 

The Difference between Pride and Arrogance

There are certain words that have a hard time shedding off their negative connotations. For example, the word “stubborn” or its equivalent “pig-headed” are generally not positive traits yet they can easily turn into “steadfastness” or “personal integrity” if you look at the other side of the coin.

Certain words distinguish themselves by degrees, such as ambitious which has mainly positive connotations until it reaches its extreme point in terms of being overly ambitious. In Spanish, “ambicioso” is mainly a negative trait denoting a money-driven person who will stop short of almost nothing. What about the words “pride” and “arrogance”? How are they similar, what are their connotations, and in what ways are they negative?

We can easily classify “arrogance” as a negative trait. Arrogant people are condescending and believe themselves to be superior, whether in looks, knowledge, wisdom, or all of the above. It is also often part of an illusion – or rather delusion – about one's own characteristics; they are overblown and distort the positive traits one may have. 

Yet all this time, the main aim of the arrogant person is to overshadow others. In fact, it seems that arrogant people are always claiming that they are superior and in order to feel that way, they have the need for -- and often take delight in -- putting everyone else down. An acute or even obsessive sense of comparison is a marked by-product of the arrogant person.

Where does pride fit in? We can be proud of our own accomplishments, our country or friends and family. If you act and do well on a task or in a given situation, be it a job well done or good grades in a course, you have reason to be proud. The main direction of pride is toward within in contrast to arrogance which has a more outward focus.

But it can become a little tricky. When you are proud of your country are you not ipso facto comparing yourself to other countries and claiming to be superior? Is this really based on your own achievements? Are you not deluding yourself with pride in non-existent abilities? In other words, can you fully identify yourself with the given traits of your country? And how congruent are they with reality?

Pride can enter a dangerous terrain where it mixes with wishful thinking -- if not delusion -- and hence it may find itself in the unwanted neighborhood of arrogance. Pride then needs to be checked so that it does not turn into arrogance. There is nothing wrong with taking credit for your efforts and accomplishments. In fact, we do so quite rarely and not enough. The proverbial “tap on the shoulder” for a task well done can boost one's confidence and does no one harm in the process.

You can be proud and also realistic about a situation. I did well, but I could have done better. At the same time, doubts play a steady part in a humble person's outlook. And again, being proud of your efforts does not mean that you are better than others. It is not a judgement on a global quality. It simply means that you may be better at a given task or job. For example, it does not necessarily follow that being an excellent hockey player will also make you a great father (though it is possible). We must be careful not to mix our apples and oranges.

But can you be proud of who you are? That is a question that baffles me. Are you who you are based on your own choices? Can you fully take credit for your personality, for instance? In other words, can you take credit for something that may be out of your control, such as genes? To a certain extent you may have control over your looks. You can also make active use of your talents. But are you not essentially born with these traits?

In recent times, pride has been used to express confidence in one's different sexual orientation. After a long time of being oppressed and having to hide one's orientation, more and more people are “coming out” in the open and are affirming with confidence who they are. Unfortunately, we are still a million miles away from equality and full acceptance.

Yet regardless of your orientation, is this something you can be “proud” of, namely a conscious and deliberate action or accomplishment? To me, it seems rather a linguistic play on words but not a real effect. In this case, I would replace pride with courage. It is living out your own desires and being who you are without hiding an important part of your own nature, your self.

The pride one may feel is, in my opinion, about this type of courage, about standing up for who one is despite the consequences and strong opposition of mainstream society. It seems to me a contradiction to say that you are proud of who you are, your traits and qualities, whereas it seems easier to accept the fact that you are proud of what you have done with your life, your actions and accomplishments. But if you believe that nurture overruns nature, then you could be proud for both options.

In short, there is really nothing wrong with being proud. In some cases, it may lead to stubborn behaviour, yet in others it can be about human rights and the right for dignity. You can be proud of your accomplishments and to an extent of your country, as long as you are realistic about it. At the same time, you must be careful and aware that pride does not turn into arrogance. In some cases, the line between the two may be paper-thin.

Suckcess, Wu Wei or Why the right Attitude goes a long Way

D.A. Pennebaker's film "Don't Look Back"

What is success? How is it measured? Is it related to having a fat bank account? Fame? Power? True love? Unlimited Sex? A Family? All of the above?

Many will say, in true existentialist fashion, that it depends on the individual and that everyone makes their own choice. But the truth is that success is almost always about what one doesn't have. The poor dream of money, the rich of true love, while the famous envy us and want to be like us, ordinary people with a simple life.

Often success becomes the phantom that we haunt and that in turn haunts us. People can get obsessed over it. The drive for self-improvement or, in its impossible form, the quest for perfection can be applied to pretty much any part of our lives, be it our personal trials and tribulation or those at work. At the latter, it is the sought-after promotion that goes, more often than not, hand-in-hand with a raise. As your money in the bank inflates, so does your pride.

The counter-culture, often deemed the hippie culture, has time and again challenged our notions of success. They do not believe that it can be measured by material worth. Many, in fact, turned their back on traditional life and values, such as career, family, children, house ... and experimented with notions of free love with an airy free spirit, the (almost unbearably) light feeling that deems itself immune against the push and pull of gravity. In most people's eyes, they were the epitome of failure, while they themselves were laughing at the preposterous and self-deluded vanity of the well-dressed business-person.

When it comes to success, people often see it as a form of competition. As a result, people become competitive. If everyone were successful, let us say if everyone were rich in this world, then money would, in fact, lose its value. Success is having that which others do not have. If at work I am surrounded by CEOs, I can hardly claim to be anybody special or to have achieved anything significant. It is the fact that these positions are coveted and desired that gives them value, intrinsic or not.

Moreover, success, being veritable competition, is all about winning. Nobody wants to lose and be left behind. It is, for most of us, not just about participating but we want to have something to show for. Be it a medal or a degree, any kind of recognition will do to make our efforts worth it all. Few people will brag about losing because let's face it, losing is for losers.

In short, we are driven by ambition to reach or attain that which others do not have. That explains why athletes want to break records and why the super rich are never satisfied with the amount of money and power they have. Success, in its most empowering sense, is a drive for progress, yet in its debilitating aspects, it deprives us of happiness and a balanced life. So how can we aim for success without becoming enslaved to it?

Of course, we could continue deconstructing the notion of success and go into leftist discussions of the harms and dangers of capitalism and the pitfalls of a consumer society or a psychological treatise on the ever-present dark side of human nature, where we never reach full happiness until we die. Yet it can be solved in a rather simpler fashion, namely with the all-important trait of attitude.

Attitude on its own, is something you generally do not want to have. Someone with an attitude are those who constantly complain and think they are better and more valuable than the rest. They are usually closed to learning or new experiences. However, there is such a thing as a good attitude and those are the ones who may be easygoing or even modest in their outlook.

I have previously blogged about humility, and I think it should be an important part of everyone's life, regardless of creed or economic status. By humility I do not condone stupidity; it does not mean that you let others trample all over you nor that you ignore or look the other way. Likewise, I do not think that turning the other cheek is the best philosophy in this world full of hungry wolves.

By humility, I mean a detached, somewhat Buddhist sense of letting things be and develop in their own fashion, what the I Ching would call Wu Wei, “acting without actions.” It does not mean to stop driving for success, but that you watch yourself and that you do not wear yourself out in the process. Having your foot always on the gas pedal does not mean you will get to your destination safe and sound. It is more about knowing when to push ahead and when to slow down.

I believe that athletes may have an ingrained sense of Wu Wei, especially if they are fully in touch with their bodies. You can push your body to amazing feats, but you have to give it also enough time to recover. We can work hard, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but we need to know when to take a break. The time off will not be time wasted but rather time well spent because you are recharging yourself and will be more likely to succeed at whatever undertaking.

The fact that many believe “time is money” has robbed many an ambitious or greedy person of several hours of sleep. And success may be about winning but is not about speed. We can be successful in due time and again I let the variable success open to individual interpretation and meaning-making.

As you gain success and as you keep looking forward, do not forget to look back once in a while and remind yourself of being humble. During the victory triumphs of ancient Rome, the generals usually had a slave whisper in their ear memento mori, “remember you will die.” In a moment of shining glory, we often tend to forget the human predicament that we come out of dust and to dust shall return.